About YO

We take pride in making each Youth Opportunity campus a valuable part of the community it serves. In partnership with state and county juvenile justice and child welfare systems, we provide innovative and results-driven clinical treatment for at-risk youth as an alternative to punitive measures.

We are dedicated to improving the number of troubled young people that can be transitioned away from the self-destructive path of criminality and behavioral abnormality.

We provide compassionate therapy to victims of crimes against children.

We work with local businesses and educators to advance viable options for troubled youth to succeed.

We work to mend broken family relationships and friendships.

In this way, we will help improve the communities we serve and the future of society-at-large.

OUR SERVICES

Evidence-Based Practice

We are both researchers and practitioners in the clinical treatment of juvenile emotional and behavioral disorders, and the care of victimized youth. As an evidence-based practice, we use the therapeutic modalities that have proved to be successful over time.

We are committed to advancing the general knowledge and efficacy of at-risk youth treatment through combinations of approaches and innovative methods.

Our system focuses on the individual, merging data-driven, proven methods with new and evolving treatments. We are dedicated to continuous improvement at our campuses while helping to increase the success rates for our discipline in general.

Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Co-Occurring Disorders

Our treatment model for youth with mental health disorders, substance abuse issues, or both, is built upon best practice frameworks including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is commonly used to treat a wide range of disorders including addictions, phobias, depression, and anxiety. CBT helps identify negative thought patterns that trigger substance abuse and other behavior issues, to help positively change those thinking processes.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a cognitive behavioral treatment that helps youth who have difficulty managing their emotions by helping them learn new skills for effective coping and improving relationships. DBT focuses on four sets of behavioral skills:

Mindfulness: the practice of being fully aware and present in the moment

Distress Tolerance: having the ability to tolerate pain in difficult situations, not change it

Interpersonal Effectiveness: asking for what you want and need and saying no while maintaining self-respect and relationships with others

Emotion Regulation: understanding how to change emotions that you want to change

YOI assumes universal precautions related to trauma. Unless definitively shown otherwise through case history, intake assessments, we assume the patient has been exposed to trauma, either directly or indirectly.

By using this approach, we ensure our patients’ time in our facility does not further traumatize them and hinder treatment progress. From the moment a young person arrives, the environment is safe and therapeutic. Our compassionate, trauma-focused approach makes us more effective in connecting with our patients in meaningful and impactful ways.

Individualized Case Planning

Every patient’s personal experiences and difficulties have impacted their belief systems, choices, and behaviors. Data is valuable in our treatment and can identify patterns, but we never forget that every person is unique.

We begin with a comprehensive assessment that identifies the challenges they face and the factors that brought them to us. We build a treatment plan that specifically addresses their needs. With assessment complete, we create a list of goals with them and the action steps required to reach those goals.

Family Engagement and Participation

One of the most important factors in a young person’s success is that their family remains engaged throughout, and after, treatment. We firmly believe in doing everything we can to maintain and strengthen family connections, and to engage parents or legal guardians in treatment planning and execution.

Through family educational sessions, visits, calls, family therapy sessions, and special events, we emphasize effective family communication and coping skills. Ultimately, when young people leave our campuses and the most critical support they will receive is from their loved ones.

Youth Treatment Programs

We are dedicated to providing a broad range of effective, caring treatment programs for at-risk and victimized young people, typically between the ages of 12 and 18. Categorically, and generally, we treat young people who:

Have been in the juvenile justice system but continue to have behavioral issues.

Have been neglected or abused.

Have demonstrated problem sexual behaviors.

Lack the coping skills to deal with the stress of family or social problems.

Have developmental or learning difficulties that influence negative behaviors.

Human Trafficking Victim Treatment

Human Trafficking is at epidemic proportions, a heinous crime against humanity that victimizes the most vulnerable of our children. Globally, the International Labor Organization estimates that human trafficking is at least a $150 billion criminal enterprise - third only to the drug trade and arms dealing - with an estimated 20.9 million victims, 26% of them children.

We are committed to bringing our resources and knowledge to the front lines of treatment for these children, and to instilling in them the confidence and critical thinking abilities necessary to keep them safe from this life.

We have had encouraging success at our facilities using combinations and individualized derivatives of Dialectical Behavior Therapy in the treatment of victims. We are dedicated to continuing our practice in this field and to sharing our knowledge with other organizations involved in treating these victims.

Transition Management

The first few months away from treatment are critical. Our transition management plans begin with our initial patient interview, and together we refine the plan during their time with us.

We prepare our patients for success by assembling a personal portfolio for them, which includes identification, a resume, any credentials or diplomas they’ve earned, an email address, a driver’s license, and references.

We give them an identity, something most of them have never had, and the simple things we take for granted. Every patient’s plan also addresses the support system and resources required to maintain stability. We give them a new start.

And we stay in touch. Our patients know we are always here if they need us. We do everything possible to ensure the progress they have made while in our care has established a lasting foundation for success in the years ahead.

About Us

Youth Opportunity owns and manages residential and outpatient treatment campuses for both adjudicated and non-adjudicated youth. Working with state and county juvenile justice systems, private insurers, and families, we provide secure and non-secure facilities for the rehabilitation of at-risk and victimized young people.